Mar 10, 2011 09:16 GMT  ·  By

References to the A5 chip have been discovered in the iOS 4.3 firmware kernelcache files attributed to Apple’s fifth-generation iPhone, or iPhone 5. The handset is expected to drop this summer at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference.

Although described by some blogs as a “ripped apart” find, Cultofmac outlines that this is clear evidence of the existence of Apple’s A5 chip in the next-generation of iPhones.

According to the Mac-centric blog, finding the reference was as simple as downloading one of the multiple iOS 4.3 IPSW files released by Apple for its iDevices and opening it in a hex editor.

The A5 processor designation was found near the very bottom of the page, where it is dubbed “S5L8940”.

Even without this discovery, it was pretty much logical to assume Apple’s next iPhone would pack the A5 chip found in its second-generation iPad.

Last year, Apple introduced the original iPad, the first device to sport the A4 custom-built chip. Months later, the iPhone 4 emerged powered by the same SoC (system on a chip).

With the iPad 2 now running the A5, summer 2011 will see the chip embedded in the new batch of iPhones as well.

To give readers an idea of just how fast Apple’s new iPhone will be, Apple is advertising its A5 CPU as being able to deliver a considerably improved experience, with 9x the graphical capabilities of its predecessor.

The A5 is a dual-core chip, which means iPad 2 can do twice the work at once, according to Apple.

“You’ll notice the difference when you’re surfing the web, watching movies, making FaceTime video calls, gaming, and going from app to app to app,” the company says on the iPad marketing page.

“Multitasking is smoother, apps load faster, and everything just works better,” the tech giant adds.

The CPU is also responsible for retaining Apple’s “legendary” 10-hour battery life on the iPad 2.

While fans shouldn’t expect the same long-lasting battery in the iPhone 5, a configuration involving Apple’s new chip will likely improve on this level as well.